Connecting means for shaker conveyer troughs



April 4 R. s. BIGELOW 2,467,957

CONNECTING MEANS FOR SHAKER CONVEYER TROUGHS Filed Feb'. 8, 1946 I 2Sheets-Sheet l drro R/vE y CONNECTING MEANS FOR SHAKER CONVEYER TROUGHSFiled Feb. 8, 1946 R. S. BIGELOW 'April 19, 1949.

2 sheets sheet 2 i mu firrok/vf Patented Apr. 19, 1949 CONNECTING MEANSFOR SHAKER CONVEYER TROUGHS R y s. Big mv, Chicag 111-, assi no to Godman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of IllinoisApplication February 8, 1946, Serial N 0. 646,327

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in connecting means for shakerconveyor troughs and provide a novel form of quick acting connectingmeans for the troughs of a shaker conveyor having a large connectingbearing area so constructed as to permit the troughs to be arranged atangles with respect to each other, to conform to an uneven mine bottom,and holding the troughs in fixed relation with respect to each otherduring reciprocation of the conveyor.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time asthe following specification proceeds and with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing adjacent ends of two troughs of a shakerconveyor with certain parts of the troughs broken away and shown insubstantially horizontal section in order to illustrate certain detailsof the trough connecting means therefor;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the troughs shown inFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation showing the troughs arranged at anangle with respect to each other and showing certain parts of theconnecting means therefor in substantially longitudinal section;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a detail fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyalong line fi-6 of Figure 2; and

Figure .7 is a detail fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyalong line l'l of Figure v2.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, adjacentends of two shaker conveyor troughs Ill and H are shown as beingconnected together in overlapping relation with respect to each otherand mounted on a ball frame it. Said troughs are of a usual constructionhaving a fiat bottom and outwardly inclined flared sides, and whileherein shown as being connected in overlapping relation, the connectingmeans therefor may also be so arranged as to connect said troughs inabutting relation, where it is desired that the conveyor be reversible.

The ball frame 62 may be of any well known form and is herein shown asincluding a lower frame member 14 suitably held in fixed relation withrespect to the ground during operation of the conveyor and as having anupper frame member I5 mounted on and guided for reciprocable movementtherealong on balls l6, I6.

Th upp r fram member i5 is pr id d with a pair of longitudinallyextending laterally spaced upright ears ii, ii at op osite sides thereofand spaced laterally from opposite sides .of the troughs i0 and]! (seeFigure 4). "Said ears are each adapted to form a pivotal support for asupporting leg it of a recessed connecting member ii Said connectingmember is secured to the bottom of the trough ll and extends thereacnossand upwardly along opposite sides thereof and laterally therefrom. Asshown in Figure 4, said supporting legs have upper recessed portionscor;- responding to laterally projecting portions 20, 2.0 of saidrecessed connecting member and are adapted to have said laterallyprojecting portions set therein, and held therein by a clamping member2?, the details of which will hereinafter more clearly appear as thisspecification pro.- ceeds. A pivotal pin 2! is mounted ineach of saidsupporting legs adjacent the lower end thereof. Said pins projectoutwardly from said legs and are pivotallymounted in the ears ll, H.

The recessed connecting member H! has a channel or socket 23 spacedbeneath and forwardly of the end of the trough l I and extending acrossthe bottom thereof. Said channel is of a wedge-shaped formation and isadapted to receive an arcuate depending tongue 24 of a rockingconnecting member 25 secured to an adjacent end of the trough it anddepending therefrom and adapted to rock within said socket wheninitially setting up the trough line. Said socket extends across thebottom of the trough H and upwardly along opposite sides thereof andlaterally therefrom.

The connecting member 25 likewise extends across the bottom of thetrough I0 and upwardly along opposite sides thereof, and has laterallyextending upper portions '26, 26 extending within the laterallyprojecting socket portions 29, .20 of said connecting member 19, as isshown in Figures 2 and'3.

The upwardly extending side portions and the laterally projectingportions of the socket "23 diverge from the lower portion thereof at anangle, to provide clearance between the side portions of said recessedconnecting membersandthe connecting member 25. Clearance is likewiseprovided between the laterally projecting portions 26, 2S and 2t, 22!.The tongue ,24 of the connecting member '25 may thus rock within thesocket 23, to permit angular adjustment of the troughs with respect toeach other.

In setting up the conveyor trough ;1i n e, the forward or receiving endpf the trough 11 .is first rockingly mounted on the cars 11, j? of theball frame it on the supporting "legs l8, l8. lle trough it isthentconnected to the tropgh 1] by p ing t t n u of t e connectin mem-'ber'2'5 into engagement with the socket 23 of the connecting member l9.Thus, when the trough I l is mounted at its discharge end on a ballframe like the ball frame l2 by a connecting member similar to theconnecting member 25 engaging the socket of a connecting member like theconnecting member l9 on the receiving end of another trough of theconveyor, and the trough I is mounted at its receiving end on a ballframe by a connecting member similar to the connecting member 19, thetwo troughs may adapt themselves to an uneven floor.

The clamping members 21, 21 are provided to hold the laterallyprojecting portions 20, 20 of the connecting member I9 to the 'legs I8,l8 and to hold the :tongue 24 in fixed relation with respect to thesocket 23 during reciprocation of the conveyor, and maintain the jointsbetween the troughs of the conveyor relatively rigid so as to preventbuckling of the trough line when heavy loads are placed thereon. Each ofsaid clamping members is provided with a depending apertured end portion29 extending between the furcations of a bifurcated ear 39, projectinglongitudinally from the upper portion of an associated leg l8 supportingone end of the connecting member l9, and is connected to said bifurcatedear by means of a pivotal pin 3|. Clearance is provided between theapertured :portion of said clamping member and said pivotal pin, to

permit a certain amount of freedom of vertical movement between saidlink and ear, to facilitate connection of the troughs. Said clampingmember is provided with an under serrated engaging surface 32 adapted toengage a corresponding upper serrated surface of the laterallyprojecting portion 26 of the connecting member 25. An eyebolt 33 havinga nut and washer indicated at 34 threaded on its upper end, is providedto hold said clamping member in clamping engagement with said laterallyprojecting .portion of said connecting member. As herein shown, the eyeof said eyebolt extends between the furcations of a dependinglongitudinally extending bifurcated ear 35 of the supporting leg I8, andis pivotally connected thereto by means of a pivotal pin 39. The end ofsaid clamping member is slotted and opens to the outer end thereof, topermit said eyebolt to be pivoted upwardly about the pin 36 into saidslotted portion, so the washer 34 may be brought into engagement withsaid clamping member by its associated nut, to hold said clamping memberinto engagement with said laterally projecting portion of the connectingmember 25 and to positively engage the tongue 24 with the socket 23, tohold the troughs in rigid relation with respect to each other duringreciprocation of the conveyor.

It may be seen from the foregoing that a simplified connecting means hasbeen provided for connecting the troughs of a shaker conveyor together,which is so arranged as to have a large connecting bearing area andwhich permits the troughs to be connected at varying angular relationswith respect to each other, to conform to an uneven mine bottom, andmakes it unnecessary to shim up the troughs at the joints there-'between to connect them in the proper angular relation with respect toeach other Where the mine .floor is uneven. It may further be seen thatthe troughs may be connected together in asimple manner by setting theprojecting tongue 24 in the socket 23 and permitting one trough to rockon its ball frame and the other trough to rock within said socket andadapt themselves to the mine bottom, and that a quick acting clampingmeans is provided to firmly clamp said projecting tongue 24 within thesocket 23 and hold the troughs in rigid relation with respect to eachother.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my inventionmay b embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof andthe arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departingfrom the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to beconstrued as limiting my invention to the specific embodimentillustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A connecting means particularly adapted to connect adjacent ends ofthe troughs of a shaker conveyor together including s. recessed membersecured to an end of one trough of the conveyor and having an elongatedsocket extending transversely thereof, a connecting member secured to anadjacent end of a next adjacent trough of the conveyor and having anelongated ar-cuate engaging surface extending transversely thereof andadapted to extend within said socket and to have rocking engagementtherewith, to connect said troughs together and permit them to adaptthemselves to an uneven fioor, a clamping member pivotally connectedwith one of said members and adapted to have clamping engagement withthe other of said members, and a securing member operable to hold saidclamping member in selected positions of clamping engagement with theother of said members and to hold said troughs in fixed positions ofadjustment with respect to each other.

2. A connecting means particularly adapted to connect adjacent ends ofthe troughs of a shaker conveyor together including a recessed membersecured .to an end of one trough of the conveyor, a connecting membersecured to an adjacent end of a next adjacent trough of the conveyor,said recessed member having an elongated socket spaced downwardly fromits associated trough and having inclined sides extending transverselyof said trough, and said connecting member having an elongatedtransverse arcuate engaging surface depending from its associated troughand adapted to engage the inclined sides of said socket and connectadjacent ends of said troughs together and permit said troughs to rockabout their adjacent ends and conform to an uneven floor, a clampingmember for holding said arcuate engaging surface of said connectingmember in engagernent with the sides of said socket and holding adjacentends of said troughs in fixed relation with respect to each other, saidclamping member having pivotal connection with one of said members andmovable into position to have clamping engagement with the other of saidmembers, and a securing member pivotally connected with said one memberand engageable with said clamping member to hold said clamping member inselective positions of clamping engagement with the other of saidmembers.

ROY S. BIGELOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th

